South Africa

Wrapping up 2019 and getting ready for 2020, industry leaders in the agriculture sector share some of their wishes for the new year with Farmer’s Weekly.

The bulk of animal production in South Africa takes place on natural veld and mainly in the savanna, grassland and Karoo biomes.

Despite facing challenges in its agricultural production and socio-economic environment, South Africa’s food security ranked first out of 28 sub-Saharan African countries, and 48 out of 113 countries surveyed worldwide.

South Africa’s 2020 wine grape harvest is expected to be slightly larger than in 2019, but still smaller than the average wine grape crop over the past five years, according to Vinpro’s first crop estimate for the season.

FairPlay South Africa (FairPlay) has called on government to urgently impose a total ban on imports of chicken products from Brazil.

Using figures from a forensic investigation into and financial review of its results, Tongaat Hulett Limited’s (THL) board of directors has now been able to correct the company’s agricultural production, processing, and land conversion divisions’ financial results for the 2018/2019 year ended 31 March 2019.

Farmers are cautioned to be more alert with the festive season approaching and be aware of increased criminal activity, according to Chris van Zyl, assistant general manager of TAU SA.

The ban on livestock auctions due to the recent foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in Limpopo is resulting in mounting costs, with BKB confirming it had suffered a R350 million drop in turnover during November and December.

The South African Cabinet has accepted 60 of the 73 recommendations made in the report by the Presidential Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture.

Rain is urgently needed to enable farmers to plant summer crops in the eastern and western Free State, according to Francois Wilken, president of Free State Agriculture.

The Dutch Reformed Church in the Northern Cape, in conjunction with the Caritas Therapy Centre in Kimberley, has launched a 24-hour telephone support service aimed at helping victims of the relentless drought in the province.

The newly appointed special master responsible for facilitating the smooth handling of labour tenancy claims will have the authority of the Land Claims Court and other legal entities behind him.

Soil erosion is a natural process, but the rate at which it is occurring due to the impact of human intervention is unsustainable.

With the festive season in full swing, the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development has called on all travellers visiting or returning to South Africa during the festive season to comply with import requirements for agricultural and related products.

More than 25% of South Africa’s food is produced by irrigation-reliant and energy-intensive sectors of the agriculture industry, which have all been severely affected by the load-shedding implemented by Eskom during the past week.

Hopes have been dashed that the recent widespread rain across South Africa’s summer rainfall region would put an end to widespread water-constrained and drought conditions.

It is business as usual for Agri SA after the recent resignation of its president Dan Kriek.

The Agbiz/IDC Agribusiness Confidence Index (ACI) has dropped from 46 points in the third quarter on 2019 to 44 points in the last quarter of the year.

As South Africa’s GDP contracted yet again in the third quarter of the year, warnings have been sounded that another potential recession and job losses were looming.

There is no truth in media reports that the Citrus Growers Association of Southern Africa (GSA) imposed fines on companies in South Africa that exported oranges and mandarins through Spanish ports.